Less than 24 hours after CNN published a bombshell report on comments that it said Mark Robinson, the Republican candidate for governor of North Carolina, made on a pornographic website, the Democratic National Committee unveiled new advertisements linking him to former President Donald Trump.

The party is prohibited from selecting a replacement who already ran in the same race in this year’s primary. That means State Treasurer Dale Folwell and attorney Bill Graham would not be allowed to replace Robinson.

Robinson said he won’t be forced out by “salacious tabloid lies” after a report that he posted strongly worded racial and sexual comments on an online message board.